Raspberry Pi OS "Bullseye" Launches, Brings Speed Boost to the Latest Raspberry Pi 4 Models

Raspberry Pi has released a new version of its in-house Linux distribution, Raspberry Pi OS, based on Debian 11 "Bullseye" — and it brings with it a free speed boost for the latest Raspberry Pi 4 models.

Replacing the existing Debian 10 Buster-based Raspberry Pi OS, the new release is built specifically for the Raspberry Pi family of single-board computers — and is, as is traditional for the software, compatible with every model from the very original Raspberry Pi through to the latest Raspberry Pi 4, Raspberry Pi 400, and Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 ranges.

The most obvious user-facing change is a neat new default wallpaper, designed to provide an at-a-glance distinction from the earlier Buster release. A number of less-obvious improvements have been made under-the-hood, but there's one in particular that stands out: a free speed boost.

Those with a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B revision 1.4 or newer will find that the default clock speed has been boosted from 1.5GHz to 1.8GHz — the same speed as the Raspberry Pi 400, which shares the same silicon version and power management integrated circuit (PMIC) — to take advantage of hardware improvements made since the original launch model.

Anyone on an older Raspberry Pi 4 Model B will remain at the stock 1.5GHz speed for now - though 1.8GHz and beyond is typically achievable using overclocking options in the /boot/config.txt file for those who would like to try their hand at boosted performance.

The new Raspberry Pi OS is now available to download from the official website, though only in 32-bit flavor for now; a 64-bit version is in the works, we're told, but won't be available for a short while yet.